Average GRE Scores for Columbia's SIPA

[MPPhomes]

Would love to hear what the average GRE score is for Columbia's SIPA. Thanks! 

[monocle]

So many people wonder, but SIPA says they don't record averages. HTH!
http://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/tag/scores/

[MPPhomes]

Yes I heard...just wanted to see what range one should aim for and wanted to know if anyone knew it. Thanks for the reply though! 

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

Depending on your background and application strength, you should aim for mid-150's on Q/V and at least 4.0 on AW. You'd be much safer with high 150's or 160+ and a 4.5+. If I didn't have so much work experience, my mid-150's Quant might not have been good enough. Just remember, it's just a piece of the puzzle. 

[monocle]

50 minutes ago, mpp2016 said:

Depending on your background and application strength, you should aim for mid-150's on Q/V and at least 4.0 on AW. You'd be much safer with high 150's or 160+ and a 4.5+. If I didn't have so much work experience, my mid-150's Quant might not have been good enough. Just remember, it's just a piece of the puzzle. 

Agreed. Though I don't think you need to worry much about AW. Funny story, I didn't prepare for the GRE (didn't know there was a writing section), when I saw it was the first section I decided I wanted to prevent myself from any anxiety later on in the exam, so I just wrote one parapraph that I thought logically summed up my argument. I got a 3.5. It didn't stop me from gaining admission to SIPA and SAIS (the AW can be was offset by very high Q+V, work experience, GPA, Essays).

[monocle]

Just now, monocle said:

Agreed. Though I don't think you need to worry much about AW. Funny story, I didn't prepare for the GRE (didn't know there was a writing section), when I saw it was the first section I decided I wanted to prevent myself from any anxiety later on in the exam, so I just wrote one parapraph that I thought logically summed up my argument. I got a 3.5. It didn't stop me from gaining admission to SIPA and SAIS (the AW can be was offset by very high Q+V, work experience, GPA, Essays).

Ok, it wasn't really a funny story.. sorry all

[MPPhomes]

Thanks for all your responses. Glad to hear this from people who were accepted to great programs (congrats btw!).

[hina234]

Okay, so back in early December I did an online information session with SIPA, and the admissions staffer who was conducting the session said that the average GRE for both Verbal and Quant is usually in the 75th percentile....

It definitely seemed like she slipped and didn't get the memo that SIPA doesn't release those stats, but looking at comparable schools, it does make sense that SIPA's averages would be in that range.

[Ch_E 13]

Guys, I am thinking to apply for the next cohort , do you believe that the AW part would really be more important than the quant and verbal? I am worried that sometimes this is the part of the test that I am struggling to improve.

[Nico Corr]

On 5/24/2018 at 1:00 PM, Ch_E 13 said:

Guys, I am thinking to apply for the next cohort , do you believe that the AW part would really be more important than the quant and verbal? I am worried that sometimes this is the part of the test that I am struggling to improve.

Are you a native English speaker? I've always felt the AW was there more to gauge the reading/writing skills of international students. It behooves to prepare and do the best you can on all sections of the test of course, but I think good verbal and quant scores can compensate for a mediocre writing sample.